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<title>Down with the recipe (bake from the heart) by dearericbittle (dutchmoxie)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22601263">Down with the recipe (bake from the heart)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dutchmoxie/pseuds/dearericbittle'>dearericbittle (dutchmoxie)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What baking can do [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teen Wolf (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baker Stiles Stilinski, Baking, Derek Hale is a Nice Thing, Established Relationship, M/M, Marriage Proposal, POV Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski Deserves Nice Things</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:09:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,188</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22601263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dutchmoxie/pseuds/dearericbittle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles Stilinski deserves nice things. And Derek’s decided that this nice thing is going to be a really nice marriage proposal. It’s just that he’s not all that good at talking about his feelings. So he’s going to have to say it with pie.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Derek Hale &amp; Kira Yukimura, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What baking can do [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626253</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>651</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Sterek Valentine Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Down with the recipe (bake from the heart)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/christinesficrecs/gifts">christinesficrecs</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Sterek valentine week, day #4: Sugar. <br/>How could I not write more Baker!Stiles? Naturally this is all for Christine, who is awesome and deserves all the damn fics.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Stiles Stilinski deserves nice things. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’s a pain in the ass who works too much and sometimes he forgets that Derek’s come a long way since they first spent the holidays together two years ago. But he’s also the person who’s fought for Derek every step of the way, who pushed him into therapy in the hardest months surrounding all of the exoneration proceedings. Who helped him study for his GED exams, when he wanted to throw his books at something (or someone, Stiles in particular). </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Derek loves him, even when they’re sniping at each other and rolling their eyes. And he knows that Stiles loves him too - he says it out loud, unlike Derek. All the time, in fact, over the silliest things, like it’s as easy to him as breathing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s not how it is for Derek. When he says it, it’s as if it’s been ripped from the deepest recesses of his soul, and he’s been trying to cling to it to make sure that no one takes it from him. That’s just what happens after eight years of having nothing to call his own (and even longer with no one to call his, no family). It’s a coping mechanism, one he’ll have to deal with at some point according to his therapist. Marin is not wrong, but he doesn’t have to like it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, he thinks he doesn’t say it enough - so he tries to show instead of tell. He drags Stiles upstairs when he’s been hiding out in the bakery kitchen for hours on end, trying to perfect a new recipe. He holds his hand in the cemetery, makes an effort to be nice to Allison Argent and doesn’t run away when Chris Argent comes into the bakery and looks at Derek with a ton of regret in his eyes. He talks to Stiles even when he’d rather be silent, because he knows that Stiles needs words sometimes, even though he’s mostly fluent in Derek’s grunts now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he just… loves Stiles the best he can, like he’s planning on doing for the rest of his life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s the thing - the rest of his life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s never been anything he looked forward to before. It’s been something he’s had to endure, a punishment for the way he’d gotten his entire family killed. Or so he thought at the time - because he’s not actually to blame for anything that Kate did (therapy managed to get that through his head). A future used to be terrifying - until Stiles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How does one explain that? How is Derek going to turn that into a marriage proposal? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right. That’s the plan here. Asking Stiles to marry him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He is not worried about Stiles not saying yes - Stiles is not subtle, and he’s made it very obvious that he wants to be with Derek for the rest of his life. Because since Stiles decided that this love thing was for him after all, he’s somehow just known that Derek was it. Sometimes Stiles can be infuriatingly on top of his shit like that. It’s lovable and annoying at the same time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Stiles is going to say yes. Derek just has to ask. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he has to do it right. They don’t usually go for any big romantic gestures - because it’s not the kind of people they are - but this is a marriage proposal. It has to be a bit more than Derek turning to Stiles and asking him if he wants to get married. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because Stiles deserves nice things. And Derek can be a nice thing, or give him nice things. He can be that guy. He can do the proposal thing, properly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he can’t do the whole thing alone, because Stiles is ridiculously good at sniffing out surprises before they actually happen, and Derek would like to surprise him just once. He wants it to be special, because Stiles likes romance, underneath it all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re going to do great,” Kira has decided that she’s going to literally look over his shoulder for most of this. “It’s very you. It’s very Stiles. And you already know he’s going to say yes.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeah, some of the most surprising developments in the past few years have been his friendships with the people who started out as just Stiles’ friends. Boyd’s the closest thing he’s had to a best friend, to family, since his own family passed away. But it’s been Kira who’s somehow surprised him the most, with her fierce determination to drag Derek out of his shell, kicking and screaming if she has to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do,” Derek nods, trying not to speak too much. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kira is fierce - any woman who teaches classes in various kinds of swordplay has to be - but she’s also soft and loving and mischievous. She reminds him of all of the things he loved (loves) about the women in his family, and she is very clear about how much she loves Derek. She calls him her best friend, openly and without shame, even in front of the biggest bigots in town - because not everyone accepted the results of the investigation into the fire. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some people still cross the street when they see him. And Kira has threatened to fight every single one of them - with or without a sword. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This should be a piece of cake,” Kira says, and Derek groans. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t even have to look at her to know that it was definitely a stupid pun. Because he knows her too well - it has to be. Supposedly only fathers crack those jokes, but Kira’s always been one to buck the stereotypes. She adores puns, and dumb jokes, and now that the kids are getting old enough to really find out how embarrassing their mom is, she throws them at the kids all the damn time. Because she’s a wonderful pain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Kira’s voice is so damn innocent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know how Scott does it,” Derek teases. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Staring down at the batter, he thinks he can take his eyes off it long enough to glance back at Kira. To tease her a little, and to check if she hasn’t started eating his ingredients again. It’s happened before, and he has no doubt that she’ll try again at some point, because he can’t keep his eyes on her all the damn time. Not if he wants this to work. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Says the man proposing to Stiles Stilinski,” Kira makes a good point, as usual. “So, what else do you need? I won’t be much use with the actual baking, but I’m great at getting groceries and supervising, and trying test bakes. And moral support.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The more he thinks about this, the more nerve-wracking it is. Why did he think that he could replicate his mother’s recipe when he hasn’t had it in over fifteen years? Especially for Stiles, who is such a discerning (picky!) eater when it comes to baked goods. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Stiles has shared so much of himself with Derek, and if Derek is going to spend the rest of his life with him, it is only fair of him to give this to Stiles. And he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wants</span>
  </em>
  <span> to give it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And eating all my ingredients,” Derek complains. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s why we bought extra,” Kira hums happily as she roots around for something else to try. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least this attempt turned out better than the first five. It’s closer to how he remembers it, and Kira happily eats some of the leftovers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe next time it’ll be perfect and he’ll be ready to ask. </span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>A baker’s dozen of attempts - isn’t that poetic?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stiles will definitely get a kick out of it when he finds out. But Derek won’t tell him until after the proposal, because he’s currently having some issues not just blurting out the words “marry me” whenever he sees Stiles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, he wants the proposal to be romantic, but he also just wants to spend the rest of his life with Stiles already. He’s impatient in a way he’s never quite been before, and only his need to make sure that Stiles has nice things is keeping him from spilling the beans. That and really wanting Stiles to be surprised - because he’s never really managed that before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he has now, because Stiles has no idea what’s happening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To him, it’s just another Sunday night at home. It’s Derek’s turn to cook, so Stiles is screwing around on Netflix while he hums that damn “toss a coin” song that he hasn’t been able to get out of his head for at least two weeks now. Derek wants to throw a pillow at his head to make him stop, but also he just wants to stare at this idiot a little. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because soon, this idiot will be his fiance, and then his husband. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh valley of plenty,” Stiles mutters slash sings to himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clearly, he has no idea. And he continues to have no idea while they have dinner, even though Derek is struggling not to ruin the reveal, and the ring is practically burning a hole in his pocket throughout the entire meal. He is probably less talkative than he usually is, but Stiles is perfectly able to keep a completely one-sided conversation going for at least half an hour if necessary, so having some sort phrases to go off could keep him occupied for at least an hour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I made dessert,” he says shyly when Stiles is done eating. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now that is a surprise in itself, probably. Because Derek doesn’t really do that - why would he, when he prefers eating healthy and Stiles gets all the treats he needs at work? If they do crave dessert, Stiles just gets out some leftovers or some experiment - and he’s so much better at it than Derek is. So it’s just… easier. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not even my birthday,” Stiles grins happily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His sweet tooth is legendary - anything that does not have coconut in it will get devoured almost instantly. If not by Stiles, it’ll be by one of the two teens Stiles has working for him now, or by anyone of their friends. They’ve all gotten ridiculously spoiled about it by now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope you like it,” Derek is eating himself up inside. “Promise there’s no coconut.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That makes Stiles grin a little as he digs in. Derek hasn’t made up a portion for himself - though there’s plenty more in the kitchen if Stiles wants more. He’s just too nervous to eat anything himself. Because the next bit is the hard part. The part that involves talking about his feelings, being vulnerable… It’ll be worth it though, when Stiles says yes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nice things. This will be a nice thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s good,” Stiles has already crammed the first bite into his mouth. “You need to give me the recipe. I think I’m gonna try and make this for the bakery. Seriously, Der. Delicious.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It warms him deep down into his soul, even though Stiles is talking while eating and basically being disgusting about it. Derek tries not to look at the half-masticated food in Stiles’ mouth, because that would definitely kill the romantic atmosphere that he is desperately trying to establish here. He doesn’t have a romantic playlist, and there are no candles (too suspicious, and Derek has issues with open flames still)... But still. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course Stiles still shovels food into his mood like he’s a teenage boy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s my mom’s recipe,” Derek starts, and Stiles drops his fork. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least he doesn’t actually choke on the food. That would be a terrible end to the night. That is not how he wants to see Melissa next, waiting at the emergency room because Stiles has gotten food lodged in his trachea somehow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit, really?” Stiles is completely graceless in his response. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She used to make it for us on special occasions,” Derek starts, trying to find the right words. “Not just birthdays or holidays, but… When I made varsity, when Laura got accepted to Yale, or even to cheer us up when one of us had been having a bad day. She wasn’t the greatest cook, but this was a family recipe that she’d been forced to learn. It’s one of the few things that everyone loved. Cora was always so picky about food.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The memories still sting sometimes - they always will, probably - but it’s easier now that Stiles is there to listen to him. To share the memories with, so that there is someone else who knows that Laura slept with a nightlight until she was sixteen years old (she was a badass about many things, just not about that), and that Derek had inherited his Dad’s ridiculous ears. Stiles is a keeper of the Hale family history too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Stiles reaches for his hand and squeezes once, twice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to share it with you,” Derek knows he needs to continue, pulling the ring from his pants pocket and hiding it under the table. “Because you’re my family now. And it would be nice to continue the tradition. For special occasions only.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Derek is trying to steer the conversation in the right direction now. He doesn’t want to keep beating around the bush. This is supposed to be a relatively simple thing, just something nice for him and Stiles, and if the conversation gets too serious, he’ll never be able to ask and they’ll just get stuck in the past. Tonight is supposed to be about the future. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So is this a special occasion?” Stiles is starting to get suspicious. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It might be,” Derek shrugs, trying to play it so very casual. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hand closes around the ring, the metal warming in his hand. His hands might be trembling a little, something he tries to keep hidden from Stiles. He knows that there is no need to be nervous - he knows Stiles will say yes - but he really wants to get this right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to share all my traditions with you,” Derek takes a deep breath and ploughs through. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to have nice things, as you would say. You deserve them, always. And I want to be able to do that for you for the rest of our lives. I want to roll my eyes at you for the next five decades or so. You make me so happy - I didn’t think I’d ever get that again. But I do. Because of you. And I love you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a shaking hand, he pulls out the ring and watches Stiles’ jaw drop - so Kira was right, this really is a surprise. He feels his mouth pulling into a grin as he watches Stiles’ response. He watches his eyes get a little watery, and lets Stiles cling to his hand as he processes what’s about to happen. They both know where this is going. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Stiles giggles happily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut it, nerf herder,” Derek teases, before he needs another deep breath. “So. There’s just one thing left to say. Mieczyslaw Stilinski, will you marry me?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Derek watches Stiles’ eyes narrow, and almost bites his own tongue so he doesn’t laugh at Stiles. Because he knows exactly what is happening here, and that is why he said what he said, and Kira was right. This does make the whole thing a lot less nerve wracking. Because Stiles is getting distracted by a silly minor thing, and their friends will make fun of him when they hear this part of the story. Which they will, because Derek is not letting it go. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This vendetta against the name has to end at some point. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Stiles is not amused. “You’re going to do that to me now? Calling me by that monstrosity in ridiculously perfect Polish? You know that gives me a hate boner.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, Derek knows. He’s used his Polish to devastating effect at several key times in their relationship. Stiles is mostly ambivalent about it, but sometimes… Sometimes Derek manages to say the exact right thing. It’s a rare thing, though. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can deal with that later,” Derek promises, because of course Stiles is too distracted by the name thing. “With some ‘we got engaged’-sex. If you ever answer me, of course.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He is not surprised that he has to remind Stiles that a question has been asked. He is also not surprised that Stiles doesn’t answer him right away - and while most people would think that is the scariest moment of the proposal, Derek is sure of the response he’ll get. Eventually, when Stiles feels like it’s the right moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because he’s clearly the drama queen in this relationship. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aren’t you gonna get down on one knee?” Stiles continues to be a shit, of course. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want me to?” Derek will do it if Stiles asks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Usually that would be romantic, but Derek has always liked it better when he was on an equal level with Stiles, and they could just hold hands and stare into each other’s eyes like the romantic saps they have apparently turned into. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah,” Stiles shakes his head. “I’d rather we both sit down and hold hands.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least they’re in sync? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mostly he just wants to be holding Stiles already. He can wait for the answer, but he likes the reassurance of having Stiles close to him. The table is getting in the way, and Stiles promised him a hate boner. He is ready to get to the celebration part of this. That part is still going to have plenty of banter, he just knows it. That’s just how they do it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sappy,” Derek mocks him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Says the guy who just proposed over dessert,” Stiles might actually be working towards giving him an answer. “The answer’s yes, by the way, but I’m sure you already knew.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course he did. He hasn’t doubted Stiles for a second. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I needed to make you say it,” Derek shrugs, smiling. “It’s tradition.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That earns him an eye roll, before Stiles finally lets Derek put the ring on his finger. Because he did his damn research, the ring actually fits over Stiles’ knobby knuckles. Stiles admires it for a few seconds before suddenly launching himself at Derek, almost knocking over the table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you,” Stiles tells him. “Now take me to bed, or lose me forever.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yes, this is definitely the idiot he’s going to marry. They’ll discuss the details in the morning, and tell everyone at some point - probably Stiles’ Dad first, and Kira, because she was involved in the proposal preparations. There will probably be an engagement party, and everyone will get way too involved in the wedding planning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But for now, they just get to be together. They get to celebrate this milestone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you want to bring dessert with you?” Derek asks, because he knows his fiance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fiance! That’s going to take some time to get used to. He likes it already, as he tastes sugar when he licks into Stiles’ mouth. First kiss as an engaged couple. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re going to make such a great husband,” Stiles tells him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Derek believes him. </span>
</p>
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